


Advanced Release: Zack in Crisis

by ScribeOfReaper



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angeal is confused, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Crack Treated Seriously, Gen, Zack Fair playing Crisis Core, fic of a fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:26:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28824429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScribeOfReaper/pseuds/ScribeOfReaper
Summary: After taking a much needed nap Angeal is greeted with a sight he hoped to never see on his phs again:The Puppy: 59 missed calls70 messages7 voice mails
Relationships: Zack Fair & Angeal Hewley
Comments: 15
Kudos: 102





	Advanced Release: Zack in Crisis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DAsObiQuiet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DAsObiQuiet/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Advanced Release](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23994286) by [DAsObiQuiet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DAsObiQuiet/pseuds/DAsObiQuiet). 



> So this fic was spawned by a runaway demon plot bunny that bit me after reading DAsObiQuiet's amazing fic Advanced Release. If you have not read that I highly recommend it. Seriously, go read it.

Advanced Release: Zack in Crisis

He needed to call Angeal.

Better yet, he needed to run straight to his mentor and show him this game, because this counted as an emergency…yep, definitely counted…maybe.

Okay, maybe not in the grand scheme of things but Zack was freaking out.

He was lying on his bed, staring at the small screen accusingly, but all he got in reply was the sound of the pause menus soundtrack.

He’d been forced to pause the game after the last cutscene—seriously, he had absolutely no choice in the matter—because for some reason they’d had Genesis desert.

Genesis!

What the hell were the game makers thinking!

Did this count as misinformation against Shinra?

Were the game makers anti-Shinra?

Should he hand this into the Turks?

Zack really wished he could call Angeal, he’d know what to do, but Angeal said he was on a personal mission…SOLDIER code for either taking the day off—which Angeal never did—or a mission so sensitive that it would only be recorded in the Turks most secure files…which Zack had no idea about and totally did not exist.

Okay, first things first, he needed to calm down.

Squats, squats always helped him clear his mind…yeah, great idea.

Zack flipped up from the bed and pointedly ignored the small twinge his ribs gave in protest.

He started off fast, determined to lose himself in the motion. To ground himself in the present and just let his thoughts flow to the pound of his own beating heart, instead of the fast-paced tattoo of his rising unease.

He had to think of this as just another mission. So…what exactly had Angeal said about missions?

Well, there was the speeches about honour, the lectures about being aware of his surroundings, the dressing-down about his field repo—that’s it!

Zack threw himself back onto his bed, ignoring how he banged his head against the wall when he reached for his PHS, which had somehow found its way under his pillow.

He flipped it open and headed straight for his chat menu.

Yeah, he had been doing basic sword drills for a week the last time he’d done this—Angeal had said it was to teach him to do things in the right order, or something—but this wasn’t a mission…so it was fine…he hoped.

It was just a few messages to help him keep his thoughts in order…what harm could it do?

xXx

Angeal looked groggily at his phone, blinking at the too bright screen as he tried to see the time. Quarter to three in the morning, as always, he’d woken up fifteen minutes before he needed to—damn his internal clock—he dragged a hand down his face as he contemplated simply lying back down for another ten minutes.

He could hear Genesis and Sephiroth as they talked quietly in the other room and beneath that…one of the repetitive battle themes from the game. So, it was still going, unsurprising.

With a sigh Angeal readied himself for who knew how many more hours of nonsensical game logic—insanity, it was pure insanity—only to be stopped when his phone buzzed an alert.

Angeal unplugged the charging cable, so he wouldn’t be forced to turn his head at a weird angle to see the screen.

What he saw made his eye twitch.

**The Puppy:** 59 missed calls

70 messages

7 voice mails

Apparently, his last lesson hadn’t sunk in. Angeal was going to have Zack doing drills until his arms fell off. That, or until he got the message that simply because he had Angeal’s private PHS number, it did not give him blanket permission to text or message Angeal about every idle thought that drifted through that thick head of his. Whichever came first.

That said, Angeal had a moment to spare. A quick check to see what had driven his student into full hyper mode wasn’t going to do any harm. In actuality, it might put him more at ease, his nerves were still on edge in regards to the cryptic hints given by that game about his student.

He scrolled, heading for the messages first, in hopes of getting a general idea of what was going on.

**1 st message**  
So, I know you said not to use this number for meme dumps, I can promise you this isn’t that!!! <cowering chocobo emoji>  
No…just curious, how’s Genesis?? Also, on a totally unrelated note I got a new game!! But seriously, how’s Genesis?

…

Angeal paused, what else could he do. Zack asking about Genesis: strange. As far as he knew Zack had never met Genesis, as the general policy of SOLDIER Second and Thirds was to steer clear of his best friend for fear of being set on fire. Also, ‘new game’, what new game?

**2 nd message  
**Okay, I know you don’t like games that much…or at all, but this one is really good!! <cheering chocobo emoji>  
Wooh mission in Wutai, yes! Also what exactly does someone mean when they say ‘unobtainable dreams are the best kind? <thinking tonberry emoji>

…

Angeal should have been prepared for this. He can only blame the fact that he wasn’t on the haze of sleep still dragging at his eyes. Zack wasn’t giving him any context, but that ‘unobtainable dreams’ quote sounded like something Director Lazard liked to say.

**3 rd message  
** Child soldier!! Wutai have child soldiers!!! Or, they definitely have one…and she’s surprisingly easy to pacify. At least a lot easier than the rest of the guards and the hulking beasts they keep in their forts to kill SOLDIER’s.  
On a side note, did you really steal dumbapples from the farms around where you lived when you were a kid? Angeal how could you, after all those lectures about honour. <laughing chocobo emoji>

…

Child soldiers? Where would anyone get the idea of Wutai using child soldiers from? Even with the current losses Wutai was suffering they still refused to lower the age at which civilians could be drafted. Was Zack still talking about a game…a game that sounds a lot like the too true to life (yes, he is still having a hard time accepting that) one that Angeal and his friends have found themselves saddled with.

The comment about the dumbapples just left Angeal more confused, only Genesis knew about his five-finger discount habit when he was a kid.

**4 th message**  
Awwwwww, I’m more important than your sword? I’ll have to remind you about that next time you ignore me in favour of polishing it.

…

Angeal made a mental note to have a polishing cloth handy for the next time he saw Zack.

**5 th message  
** Noooooo, Lazard how could you!!!! I was epic back there, I took down two of those anti-SOLDIER monsters all by myself!!! Angeal, you traitor! How could you agree with him?! <angry chocobo emoji><pouting behemoth emoji>  
But I get to meet Sephiroth! \o/

…

This was making absolutely no sense, Angeal desperately needed context.

**6 th message**  
Errr, does Shinra have a cloning program I’m unaware of? Oh no, wait the game said that Genesis is a deserter…so who else has the funds to clone people? Well, Sephiroth called them copies—I mean the Sephiroth in the game did…let’s call him Gamiroth…on second thoughts if the real Sephiroth hears that I might get introduced to Masamune, so let’s go with game Sephiroth instead…<panicking chocobo emoji>  
Wait, what!!!! No way!! Absolutely not! These game makers are way out of line! There’s no way you would betray Shinra!! Yeah, you tell game Sephiroth game Zack!!! <mad moogle gif>

…

Okay, so Zack is clearly playing a game. One that’s set up quite similarly to the one Angeal and his friends are playing right now. Though Zack is the protagonist, not Cloud, and Sephiroth isn’t the villain…but he and Genesis are traitors?

**7 th message  
**Sephiroth gets to refuse missions?? Since when?! <annoyed behemoth emoji>  
These guys again…I know Genesis is rumoured to be a bit of a narcissist…okay, a big one, but this is ridiculous! And I was right, Shinra does have a cloning program!!  
Also why do Scarlet’s machines seem to work better in this game, I mean they can’t go five minutes in the field without malfunctioning and attacking friend and foe alike, but in this they only seem interested in attacking me! No fair!!! <mad moogle emoji>  
Why does everyone keep comparing Soldier to monsters!!! I am not a monster! Look, no horns, or tails, or extra limbs spontaneously growing!

…

Though he did have the right to refuse a mission, Sephiroth had never actually exercised that privilege, the question here was how had someone outside of Shinra’s higher up’s known that. Then again, he, Genesis, and Sephiroth have been asking similar questions in regards to the game they’d been playing.

Monsters? Game Sephiroth had mentioned something like that before…

**8 th message  
** You told your mum you nicknamed me the Puppy!! Angeal why?! <crying chocobo emoji>  
WHY? WHY DID YOU LEAVE YOUR SWORD BEHIND!! Come on you’re the most honourable person out there.

…

He remembers writing a letter to his mother where he’d told her about Zack, he’d sent it off last month and had received a reply barely a week ago. That didn’t concern him, what did was the mention of his counterpart in this game leaving behind his sword, he’d have to ask Zack for more details later.

**9 th message  
** Errrr, does Genesis not have a good relationship with his parents?  
Awwwww, you and Genesis are Sephiroth’s only friends…wait Genesis and Sephiroth are friends? I thought they were rivals. Well, one-sided rivals on Genesis’ part.

…

Genesis’ parent’s? He hadn’t talked to them in years, what role did they play in this games story?

**10 th message  
** Loveless. Yep, that’ll be the real Genesis.  
Again! Zack the puppy again! Does everyone call me that!!! <Raging Bahamut gif>

…

Yes, everyone did, with good reason.

**11th message  
**Tense! So tense, but this game is really doing you justice…can’t really say the same for Genesis but they have got his dramatic flair down from what I can see. Though still not sold on the whole he’s the big bad of this game.

…

If Genesis wanted to Angeal has no doubt he could convince anyone he was evil. He’s pretty sure most of the Thirds going through the materia training he organised already do.

**12 th message**  
THAT WAS NOT THE TIME FOR A LOVELESS QUOTE!!!!  
And then he sets Bahamut on me. <murderous tonberry gif> <megaflare Bahamut gif>

…

That sounds very Genesis-y.

**13 th message**  
WE ARE NOT MON-&#$%!@#!!!!  
Wing…

…

Angeal didn’t have a clue what that message meant

**14 th message**  
Angeal! Answer your phone!!!

**15 th message  
** Come on this is important!!!!  
 **16 th message  
** Answer the phone pleeeeeeaaaaaassssssseeeeeee!!!!! <crying Moogle emoji>  
 **17 th message  
**<sad howling puppy gif>  
 **18 th message  
** <sad howling puppy gif>  
 **19 th message  
** <annoyed puppy tearing apart a Soldier plushie gif>  
 **20 th message  
**I swear to Ifrit Angeal if you don’t answer your phone, I won’t water your plants the next time you’re on a mission and I’m not!! <roaring Ifrit gif>

…

Maybe Angeal should check his voice messages…and get Sephiroth or one of the more responsible Seconds to look after his plants the next time he’s on a mission.

Angeal minimised his chat tab and tapped the missed call notification.

“You have seven new voice messages. First message rec—” He zoned out a little as he waited to hear Zack’s voice. “Angeal!! Why aren’t you answering your phone?! I’ve been trying to call you for ten minutes, but I just keep getting the dead phone message!! Call me! Call me back as soon as you get this because we really, really, really, need to talk about the fact that Genesis grew a wing!!! Oh, and killed his parents and completely went crazy, and Banora’s been blown off the face of the planet, and your mum honour killed herself…THAT HAD BETTER NOT BE A FAMILY PRACTISE THING!!!!  
Pleaaaaassssssseeeeee just answer your phone!!! This game is really starting to freak me out!  
End of first message, press on—”

Angeal hung up, cutting off the options as he stared at his phone.

Grew a wing…Genesis had grown a wing in this game? How? And all that other stuff…Banora gone, both his and Genesis’ parent’s dead, his mother having taken her own life and Genesis having killed his. If any of this was true, Angeal wasn’t going to stand by and let it happen.

He redialled his voice mail and bypassed the recorded options completely by pressing three.

He listened idly until the voice listed the time his second message was received.

Angeal cut the call and reopened his chat menu. He was lost enough as it was, the texts were at least giving him some information he could work with. If he could link up the times the texts were sent with the voice mails, then at least he might have some idea about what was going on.

**21 st message  
** WHY WON’T YOU ANSWER YOUR PHONE!!!!! T-T  
FINE! I’LL JUST CONTINUE SHOUTING AT YOU HERE!!! <berserk Bahamut gif>  
So, war with Wutai is apparently over, Sephiroth get’s all the credit, because of course he does…It’s the hair, isn’t it. With hair like that he belongs in shampoo commercials not SOLDIER!

…

Angeal would really appreciate some dates to go along with these revelations, but he knows that’s asking too much from Zack. As for the comment about Sephiroth’s hair…that’d been the general consensus of everyone working at Shinra for years,

**22 nd message**  
I made First, but I’m not happy about it, nope, not at all, because what point is there to making First if you’re not there to see it! <sulking puppy gif>  
Of course Sephiroth is dumping his mission on me again. Is he actually going to do anything in this game?

…

Zack had a few more years before Angeal recommended him for First, but when it happened, Angeal would be there to see it.  
Whoever designed this game had no idea how deeply ingrained Seph’s work ethic was if they were having him turn down missions. That thought was strangely comforting, at least there was something he could be sure about the game designers getting wrong.

**23 rd message  
**So we get told about this mission where the Shinra army will be trying to kill you, Genesis, and all the copies. Game Sephiroth steps up to say he’s going on the mission too and when game Zack asks if he’s going to kill you and Genesis…he smirked.  
Why!!! I thought he was your friend! Would he actually do that?

…

If it was the type of smirk Angeal thinks it was, then no. Sephiroth wouldn’t kill them. Besides, why would Sephiroth turn down a mission only to go on it anyway. No, if Angeal knew his friend, and he did, then he knows that the real Sephiroth would have something else in mind, but this is Game Sephiroth.

**24 th message  
** Okay, attack on the Shinra building, looks like it’s Genesis, sorry Game Genesis, is it too late to start calling this version of him that now...I’m sticking with it.  
Anyway, yep, it’s game Genesis and he brought the big guns, attached to the hulking robots of death. Soooo, who’s this Hollander guy? Is he made up for the game? Ohh oh, I bet he’s somehow threatening Genesis and that’s why he turned against Shinra.  
I really can’t get a read off game Sephiroth, don’t know whether he cares about the versions of you and Genesis in this game or not.

…

Zack still lacked any sense when it came to describing a target. Hulking robots of death with big guns could describe any number of the machines that come out of Scarlet’s department.  
Hollander, what would he be able to threaten Genesis with? Angeal would need to look into that, along with all the other things he already needed to investigate.

**25 th message  
**Cissnei huh, she’s badass.  
YES!!!! I knew it!!! Game Sephiroth you are awesome, we’ll have game you and game Genesis back in no time!

…

Cissnei? Angeal had heard the name before, he just can’t place it right now.  
So, game Sephiroth had refused the mission to kill Angeal and Genesis’ own game counterparts and was trying to bring them back. Angeal didn’t even try to suppress the smile that spread across his face.

**26 th message**  
WHAT THE HELL!!! WHAT IS HOLLANDER DOING TO YOU!!!  
I mean your face…the monster…that’s supposed to be like the Genesis copies? But…its…Nope. Just no.

…

Yet another message that Angeal had no clue how to translate.

**27 th message**  
IT WAS YOU! You were the ones that broke the training room last month! Me and Kunsel were on guard duty for two weeks because of that, and I got my wages docked!!! Do you have any idea how boring Guard duty is!! It wasn’t even the main entrance it was the door to the emergency stairs that absolutely no one uses!!! I will make you suffer for this!!! <Shiva freezing the world gif>  
All of that aside you have got to invite me to the next session because that was epic…though probably best if we don’t get in between Sephiroth and Genesis, also Shinra swords really can’t hold up against Masamune and Rapier so stop using them. You have the Buster sword for a reason, it’ll rust if you don’t use it. <glaring chocobo gif>

…

Ah, he was hoping Zack wouldn’t find out about their sparring sessions just yet, oh well. In any case, Buster would not be used, it was a symbol of his family honour, as Zack well knew. Angeal couldn’t allow it to accumulate too much wear and tear. Though Zack was right, the Shinra issued swords did break far too easily and worse, the blades had a tendency to shatter, but what wouldn’t given enough blows from Masamune or Rapier.

**28 th message  
** Project G…so it is all Hollander’s fault and game Genesis doesn’t have any other choice otherwise…the degradation. Which was caused by that wound because mako seeped into it…

…

Degradation? What was that, and Project G. Hollander had a lot of explaining to do.

**29 th message**  
Game Sephiroth looks so sad, like he’s been abandoned…and then game Genesis drops in with another Loveless quote while game Zack goes chasing after Hollander, which by the way, how the hell is he out running me! <confused moogle gif>

…

Was this the start of it? Did the Genesis and Angeal in the game Zack was playing contribute to the warped version of Sephiroth Angeal and his friends were fighting against in the game they were playing? Before he could follow that train of thought, Angeal noticed the time stamp next to the last message, it was practically the same time the second voice mail had been left.

Angeal flicked between menus again and ignored the automated voice until it was replaced with Zack’s.

“What do Angel’s dream of, huh. This is so messed up, the weirdest part is how right this game get’s the little details, like, I could see myself reacting like that…it scares me. Does that mean the bigger details are right too? Would you really attack me Angeal? Try to force me to fight you?  
Well, if they are, I won’t let them happen. SOLDIER’s aren’t monsters.”

Angeal listened to the voice mail automated voice again with half an ear and when it provided the time the next one was received, he hung up. He’d come back to it.

As he reopened the chat menu, Angeal couldn’t help but notice the gap in time between the last and the next message. Zack had sounded so calm in the last voice mail, but his voice had also sounded strained. Angeal wondered how many times Zack had tried to get through before he’d given up and left another voice mail. Zack had said he’d attacked him, tried to force him to fight…why?

**30 th message**  
Okay, so after seeing my game self’s first meeting with Aerith my real first meeting with her doesn’t seem so bad now. I mean heroically recovering from an injury sustained in a fierce battle is preferrable to falling through her church roof, crushing her flowers, and on top of all that getting my wallet stolen! <embarrassed moogle emoji>  
But he sticks the landing!! <cheering chocobo gif> Gotta check if that store is real.  
No, no, no what am I doing!!! It was going so well. T-T  
Phew saved it at the end. <sighing in relief moogle emoji>

…

So Aerith was in this game too…

**31 st message  
** Game you throws me off the plate and now he wants my help…could he not have asked that before he made me take the express way to Sector Five Slums…oh wait, if he hadn’t I wouldn’t have met Aerith, maybe game me should be grateful. <grateful chocomog emoji>  
Well, at least we’re working together again.

…

Wait, Angeal’s game counterpart was responsible for the Zack in the game falling through the church roof. He had fallen from the plate! What the hell was the game version of him thinking! That fall should have been lethal, but it sounded like game Zack had simply dusted himself off and started talking to game Aerith…not unlike Cloud did in his game…game insanity!

**32 nd message**  
So Genesis’ target was Hojo…judging from that last scene I say let game Genesis have him. <stabby tonberry emoji>  
Even game Sephiroth told me to forget about him, with good reason, the guys way too creepy!!.

…

It seemed Hojo wasn’t winning any supporters with these games.

**33 rd message**  
More Loveless, seriously what is it with Genesis and that play? Does the real Genesis go on about it that much? If so you must have it memorised by proxy. <smart moogle emoji>

…

Angeal, Sephiroth, and every SOLDIER that’s ever been on a mission with Genesis for an extended period of time. They all had it memorised.

**34 th message**  
Where! Just Where is he getting all these summons from! <Bahamut Fury Exaflare gif>  
Seriously, every time I get close to game Genesis he throws a new summon at me. Oh well, at least I get some cool abilities out of it.

…

The real Genesis would like to know that too, judging by the way he was memorising the location of every rare summon they came across in their own game.

**35 th message  
**So, crisis averted. Game you and game Genesis just vanish after I single-handedly take out Bahamut Fury, probably scared off by my awesomeness. <preening chocobo gif>  
Game Sephiroth’s not just refusing missions now but also actively avoiding them by locking himself in the data room to read up on the history of the science department…why would he torture himself like that, it sounds like the most boring subject ever. <sleeping chocomog gif>  
Oh well, another cutscene with Aerith. \o/

…

Angeal was concerned “locking himself in the data room to read up on the history of the science department.” That sounded far too similar to the behaviour of game Sephiroth in Nibelheim.

**36 th message**  
Why is everyone so cryptic in this game!! <annoyed behemoth emoji>  
Seriously, there’s you always literally flying in and now Tseng’s being all mysterious and not telling me how he knows Aerith. It’s a simple question!

…

Cryptic huh? This is Zack so Angeal couldn’t be completely sure that it wasn’t just him missing the more subtle hints the game might be giving him. The bit about Aerith just screamed jealousy, Angeal would have to keep that in mind for future teasing material.

**37 th message**  
Remind me never to get in a helicopter with Tseng, <scared moogle emoji>  
Oh well, at least game me made a new friend, I’ll have to check whether Cloud’s real or not. After all us country boy’s have to look out for each other.

…

So now it was Cloud, had the game makers just reused information or was there something more going on behind this. In any event he’d have to make sure Zack kept his distance from the real Cloud Strife until he was cleared of any suspicion.

**38 th message**  
What the heck is game Genesis doing all the way out here in Modeoheim in an abandoned mako extraction facility? Oh well, guess I’ll find out.  
Hah, at least game me proves I can be sneaky! Who’s the hyper-active attention seeking puppy now! I only had to redo the infiltration six times! <smug Nibel wolf emoji>

…

Zack, Zack is the puppy and he always will be, and real infiltration missions didn’t work like that.

**39 th message**  
Whoa, what did I just walk into. Genesis turned on Hollander…but he’s not looking too good.  
Jenova cells?  
Errrr, wait hold on, take the world with you. No way! There has to be another way, try working with a scientist that isn’t only interested in his own agenda first!!!  
Ouch, and you were doing so well Cloud, <sweatdrop moogle emoji> in the kids’ defence Hollander is way above his weight class.

…

Jenova again. Was that what was causing game Genesis’ mutations? If Angeal got the chance, he’d make sure there would be nothing left for the science department to study.

**40 th message**  
Game me vs game Genesis!!!!

…

In real life that would be a very short fight that ended with Angeal needing to cart his student off to medical.

The time of the next message once again lined up with the next voice mail, with practised hands Angeal navigated his phs menu and started the voice mail.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like that…I mean I would never—I didn’t!! Angeal he just, he j-just dropped, he was talking about taking the world with him but he just fell…why would he do that! WHY?! Is the real Genesis at least okay? What are my chances of being barbecued if I try to hug him the next time I pass him in the corridor? This is so messed up.”

Angeal couldn’t agree more, but he had to believe there was a point to this. Whether it was an unorthodox way of exposing the Science departments misdeeds, or the moral bankruptcy of Shinra as a whole. He just felt sorry that Zack had to face this alone, Angeal had both Genesis and Sephiroth, that had made all the difference.

Angeal turned back to the messages and hoped that nothing worse would come.

**41 st message**  
Cloud and Tseng really aren’t having the best day, unsurprising given how strong game you made the monsters, which by the is still freaky! <shivering carbuncle gif>

…

How strong Angeal had made the monsters? What did that mean? Angeal would find out.

Angeal worried when he noticed it was already time for the next voice mail.

He listened, expecting more shouting, more anger, he was even prepared for the unnervingly calm voice he had heard earlier.

He wasn’t prepared for the soft whimper and half choked sobs, or for how his heart broke.

“Angeal! don't you ever make me honour kill you, that is not okay. Even if you turn into a griffin, wolf, turtle thing, that tries to kill me! It’s still not okay!! Damn it, damn it, damn it!! Why the hell won’t you answer your phone!! Argh, just wait until I get my hands on Hollander! There’s no way that bastards related to you, I won’t accept it. All of this is his fault!!”

Angeal didn’t register the part about Hollander. Actually, he blocked it out, too concerned about Zack. As a SOLDIER he knew how to compartmentalise, and Zack took priority.

**42 nd message**  
Director Lazard was funding Hollander and cute innocent Aerith is being watched by the Turks because she’s the last Ancient…What is wrong with the world! <Bahamut Fury Exaflare gif>

…

Director Lazard funding Hollander after he deserted Shinra, Genesis would have a field day with the interwoven family drama that probably fuelled that misguided decision.

**43 rd message  
** Genesis is still alive! Well, no, not really, I mean…how did Tseng put it? Controlling the copies from the lifestream? What does that even mean. <confused moogle gif>

…

That sounded a lot like what game Sephiroth was doing with the cloaked figures, were they the same?

**44 th message  
** Wait, wait, wait…so Genesis is actually alive alive. HOW!!!!  
Ugh, this is too confusing. Junon’s been attacked, Hollander who was being held there for questioning escaped…seriously, a man that size should not be able to outrun a SOLDIER! Stupid blast doors, stupid interfering army of copies! <raging Ifrit gif>  
And why the hell does game Sephiroth look happy…well, as happy as I’ve ever seen him. It was weird, he almost smiled and he gave game me permission to go visit Aerith when there’s so much work still to do. He’s being somewhat understanding and it’s freaking me out!

…

So, game Genesis faked his death and managed to escape Modeoheim. Angeal is unsurprised. As for game Sephiroth…if he was anything like the real Sephiroth then Zack was just starting to see a glimpse of the man he really was. Someone who cared about his friends and the men he commanded but didn’t know how to express it. Someone that was happy that his friend was still alive.

**45 th message**  
Okay, Shinra robots not being able to tell the difference between SOLDIER’s and monsters, does nobody else see that as a problem!  
Huh, an Angeal copy that isn’t trying to kill me and is protecting Aerith. Well, couldn’t ask for a better guard dog, I guess. Though it does kinda stick out, being a winged dog and all. <winged puppy emoji>

…

Wait, what? Game Angeal had copies that weren’t human?

**46 th message**  
Twenty-three tiny wishes, even though they’re small they do pile up. More reason to work harder. Ugh this is so confusing, I just met Aerith the other day!!! This feels intrusive, but she’s older in this, and a bit more outgoing, but still very cute. NO! Bad Zack!!

…

Angeal was going to pretend he didn’t see that last message. It very much did not sound like his business.

**47 th message**  
Game Sephiroth’s talking about abandoning Shinra…seems like it’s all gonna come down to how far-gone Genesis is.  
Well at least I have Cloud to keep me company, we’re heading for his hometown, so we’ll have a guide. With this team, the Nibelheim mission will be finished in no time. Huh, it must be one of those easy missions games give you before you face a really hard Boss. A place where you can level up easily and stock up on some rarer items. <excited chocobo gif>

…

Nibelheim. Was this the same mission that Cloud had recounted in their game. If it was then Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth’s suspicions had been correct, Cloud’s recollection was flawed.

**48 th message  
**Sephiroth can laugh! <shocked chocobo gif>  
Wait Jenova, wasn’t that name mentioned earlier? She’s Sephiroth’s mother? <confused moogle gif>

…

Contrary to popular belief Sephiroth does have emotions and given the right occasion can laugh, Angeal just hopes it’s not one of Sephiroth’s unsettling self-deprecating ones.

The mention of Jenova again, game Sephiroth did refer to her as mother, was this the start of it?

**49 th message**  
So, in this game…game you, game Genesis, and game Sephiroth were all part of the Jenova project. That can’t be…I mean, you’re human, you’re all human. SOLDIER’s aren’t monsters, none of you guys are monsters!  
Also if Game Genesis is asking for help he’s really going about it the wrong way! I mean game Sephiroth was already acting weird and then he comes in with ‘muhahaha, you were created to be the perfect monster!’

…

What was a monster but a being exposed to too muck mako energy…if you looked at it that way…but Zack was right. Angeal had to believe that. The real question was if Genesis was in Nibelheim why hadn’t game Cloud mentioned it.

**50 th message  
**Game Sephiroth just left game me, an injured Cloud, and Tifa our teenage mountain guide alone on a mountain with Genesis copies…Rude! <annoyed chocobo gif>

…

Not something the real Sephiroth would do.

**51 st message**  
Awwww poor Cloud lol. I think game me just really confused him…I think game me is a little confused too.

…

Angeal had been confused since he started reading these messages.

**52 nd message  
** Ummm, starting to get a little worried about Sephiro-  
TOWNS ON FIRE! WHY IS THE TOWN ON FIRE!

…

Angeal knew why.

**53 rd message  
**Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo not Sephiroth too, is he okay? he's not talking about his mother is he? Because she is not that jellified mutated tonberry thing, no way!!

…

That was actually quite an accurate description of Jenova…given Zack’s track record.

**54 th message  
** Since when can Sephiroth teleport!! No fair! <angry moogle gif>

…

He couldn’t, at least not that Angeal knew.

**55 th message**  
Okay…narrow bridge…Crazy Sephiroth…open mako reactor below…awesome villain theme song…yep, this is where game me dies.

…

He had better not!!!

**56th message**  
I lived!!! <crying moogle emoji>  
Worst. Boss Battle. Ever!

…

Angeal couldn’t help the sigh of relief.

**57 th message**  
Hey! I won, so why did game me lose!! <raging Bahamut emoji>

…

Angeal would chock that up to game insanity.

It was time for the next voice mail.

“SEPHIROTH IS NEVER ALLOWED ANYWHERE NEAR NIBELHEIM!! EVER!!” Angeal had to hold his phs at arms-length as Zack went on. “I mean the whole town…why?! And I couldn’t stop him! Cloud had to! WHICH IS INSANE!!! He’s in the infantry! He shouldn’t even be able to lift Buster, let alone swing it the way he did!!! HOW WAS HE NOT A SOLDIER ALREADY!! Ugh at least things can’t get much worse!”

Angeal brought his phs back to his ear as he chewed over the latest revelation. Cloud wasn’t in SOLDIER, he didn’t have any enhancements and yet he defeated Sephiroth? Angeal shook his head, was it simply an inconsistency? Why did the Cloud in their game think he was a SOLDIER? And why had he never mentioned Zack? The game that Zack was playing made it seem as though they knew each other.

Angeal just hoped that Zack was right and that was the end of the worst of it.

He turned back to the messages.

**58 th message**  
It got worse!!!

…

How? How exactly could it get worse?

**59 th message**  
Okaaaayyyy…either over exposure to mako is making game me hallucinate or you’re paying me visits from the great beyond to lecture me…Have I disappointed you that much? T-T

…

Angeal would say it’s the mako because Zack has never let him down.

**60 th message**  
Hojo is allowed to keep a creepy maze of a lab, complete with roaming monsters and discarded skeletons, where he imprisons people and experiments on them against their will. HOW IS THIS ALLOWED!! <enraged Bahamut gif> <Shiva freezing the world gif><berserk Ifrit gif>

…

If it turned out to be true and Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth has anything to say about it, that lab would soon be reduced to ashes.

**61 st message**  
Nibelheim is already rebuilt…how is that even possible? <confused moogle emoji>

…

Shinra really did work fast when it came to covering up their dirty secrets.

**62 nd message**  
Cloud has mako addiction…just what did Hojo do to him…I mean game me seems a little off but Cloud’s not even conscious. At least game me managed to find something not soaked in mako for him to wear…though, not sure how happy he’s going to be waking up to find he’s suddenly wearing a SOLDIER First’s uniform. <sweatdrop moogle emoji>

…

Mako addiction, Angeal finally had an explanation for so many of the inconsistencies and plot holes.

**63 rd message**  
Cissnei you rock!! T-T  
She managed to get the Turks off our backs for a while and now we have transport! Midgar here we come!! <cheering chocomog emoji>

…

Ah, now Angeal remembered. Cissnei was a Turk, but more importantly, why was game Zack heading to Midgar when Shinra was clearly after them?

**64 th message**  
O_o Nope!! No way! Nuh uh!  
Game Genesis and his copies are back in the mix and one of them ripped out my hair and ate it!! Oh, but it gets weirder!! <creepy tonberry emoji>  
The Genesis copy that eats my hair mutates right before my eyes!!! What the hell!!

…

Angeal couldn’t help but be thankful that he hadn’t had to watch that scene.

**65 th message  
**You’re alive!!!! <crying happy tears gif><crying happy tears gif>

…

For some reason, Angeal doubted that.

It was time for the next voice mail.

Angeal held his phs away from his ear in preparation for the next round of shouting. “…”

He blinked, checked the voice mail, yes it was playing. “…”

Nothing.

He held the phs to his ear and listened, minutes past with only the white noise of an abandoned phs playing out against the reigning silence.

Angeal was about to hang up when at last a deep shuddering breath sounded across the line. “I-It wasn’t you…It was Lazard, turned into a copy of you by Hollander…”

More silence, followed by what might have been the tightening of Zack’s grip on his phs. “I wanted it to be you.”

It all seemed to spill out after that. “I couldn’t save you, I couldn’t save Sephiroth, I don’t think Genesis wants to be saved…I won’t let Cloud down!! I’ll protect him if it kills me!”

The call cut off after that.

One voicemail and five messages left. Angeal couldn’t stop here. Even though every fibre of his being wanted him to run and wrap his student in a hug and not let go.

**66 th message**  
Back in Banora, it’s changed so much.  
Genesis really does admire Sephiroth doesn’t he. It kinda makes what happened in Nibelheim sadder, but could Sephiroth’s cells really have saved Genesis…I mean the sample they ripped out of my head keeps turning the copies into a Death Gazes ugly cousin, and that’s me being nice!! <cringing moogle emoji>

…

And the were back to the nonsensical descriptions.

**67 th message**  
Why do people keep pushing things onto me!!! <raging Bahamut gif>  
Game me is there trying to talk game Genesis down and all he does is quote Loveless at me!!! If I never hear another verse of that again it will be too soon!! If I hear Genesis reciting it, I’m gonna cast silence on him! He can throw all the fireballs at me he wants! I don’t care!!! <roaring Leviathan gif>  
Wait…is game Genesis dead? Okay this is getting kinda trippy…Where did the lady in the impractical gold armour come from?

…

Angeal would have to warn Zack that casting silence on Genesis didn’t work, Genesis wore a rune armlet at all time to prevent it. After that one incident when they were Seconds and an annoyed platoon of infantry had tried to teach Genesis a lesson…it had not been pretty. Angeal had to get Sephiroth to help him pull Genesis off the ringleader.

**68 th message  
**NOOOOOOO! Not the Angeal guard dog! Lazard too!! This game is trying to kill me with feels!!! T-T T-T  
Ugh will the game make up its mind! How is game Genesis still alive, I’m pretty sure he was in the actual lifestream so how…That said he is looking a lot better, his hair’s not white anymore.

…

Genesis with white hair? Nope Angeal can’t picture it, though it might be funny to see it after all the times Genesis had accused Sephiroth of having old man hair.

**69 th message**  
Four years!!! Game me and Cloud were locked in Hojo’s lab for four years! He had no right!! Aerith was waiting for me…I mean game me all that time!  
Also some SOLDIER operatives took away Genesis after game me left with Cloud and Genesis completed the unfinished act of Loveless while unconscious…He can write poetry while unconscious but he can’t defend himself…priorities? <confused moogle gif>

…

The Genesis in this game was still alive? Did that mean he was alive in the game they were playing, was he being held by Shinra?

Angeal was down to the last message, he just hoped he’d get some answers.

**70 th message**  
…I died.

…

How could Zack end it there!

Angeal frantically dialled his voice mail and waited impatiently for the last message to play.

“…”

It was a pocket dial, one that lasted less than seven seconds.

Angeal felt his lungs constrict with dread.

He stood, heading for the door with all he grace of a charging Nibel dragon.

Genesis and Sephiroth turned as he entered the living room and whatever greeting they were about to give died in their throats as Genesis’ eyes widened and Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at the expression dawning Angeal’s face.

“I’m going to find Zack.”

If there were any protests Angeal didn’t hear them, as the door closed firmly behind him.

Instead, he heard the twin set of rushing footsteps following him not three seconds later.


End file.
